The Human And The Fish
by Vampress6
Summary: After getting a job, he dreamt of since he was a kid. Ryou is shocked when he finds out what type of creature he is looking after. Crappy summery Pairings Main: RyouxBakura, Slight: MalikxRyou, Side: MarikxMalik
1. Chapter 1

**Heloooooooooo Dragonblade122 here, this is one of my new storys (again, but not as bad as my sister is with new story's since she has four new ones to type up) hope you like it and please comment.**

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BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...SLAM!

"Alright I'm up already" I said as I hit the alarm button, I groaned, today was the first day of my job, oh yeah I forgot to mention, my name is Ryou, I'm 17 years old and I live by myself in a small roomed apartment, my dad is an Archeologist and works in Egypt, I don't have a mum because she and my sister Amane died in a car accident when I was just a kid, I can understand my dad not being here all the time, at least he's got something to distract him nearly 24/7, that's why I'm getting a job, not just to distract myself but to actually be able to handle myself instead of having to rely on others all the time. I got out of bed and began to go into the bathroom after getting my job clothes from my wardrobe, oh yeah I also forgot to tell you, my new job is working at the aquarium and my boss turns out to be Mako Tsunami from Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Tournament hosted by none other than Seto freaking Kaiba, I swear he has no emotion what so ever, I mean come on he didn't let me go to a proper hospital when Zorc(1) had taken over my body, but that was in the past, now Yami has come back and has decided to stay with Yugi and Marik (Yami) has somehow learned not to be the psycho he used to be and is now dating Malik (I don't see how since they are basically the same person) and now I'm kicked so to speak out of their little friendship circle and the only person I talk to is Malik and even then he's usually getting done by Marik.

It's just another day for me being on my own" I say to myself, yeah I talk to myself, it's a downside to living with myself, anyway I finish in the shower, dry myself off and got changed into my job clothes then went downstairs into the kitchen to make my breakfast which was scrambled eggs, sausage and beans which was something I used to eat when I was in England. After I finished eating and cleaned up I realized that I had an hour to get to work, I rushed to get my shoes on left, locked the door before rushing down the stairs and exiting the apartment before getting to a bus station and getting on just as it was about to leave, after sitting down at the back of the bus I let out a breath that I didn't know I had held in and waited till the bus came to my stop.

Thankfully it took 30 minutes to get to the Aquarium so as soon as I got off I jogged slightly so I could get there faster

"Hey Ryou didn't think you'd get here on time" said Mako as he walked out of the doors to the Aquarium

"You know me Mako, I like to get to places early in case someone decides to change the time" Mako didn't really mind me calling his name instead of boss because he lets all of his employees because he believes we are a team and is always open to new ideas that his employees have in mind if it helps the Aquarium or to help raise money to help the environments or animals of the sea.

"Well since your here a little early I would like you to set up the Cafe first then help the cashiers to set up all the food ready for when they open up please then tell me when you're done, how's that for you?"

"You know me Mako, always ready for a little challenge to get the blood going" I giggle lightly, yeah I giggle sometimes, I guess that's why people mistake me for a girl sometimes, no offences to my mum but sometimes I curse my looks and my long hair, one because I get picked on for it and second every time I look in the mirror I see either my mum or my little sister.

"Oh yeah, here's a map in case you get lost" he hands me a piece of paper which was the map of the entire Aquarium, this I was thankful for since I've only been here once or twice, after saying 'thanks' I left him to do his job and went inside the main building that was to the left of the water show that Mako does every midday to closing time, as you look at the outside of the building you would think that it was a small cafeteria the kind you'd get in schools or Collage, but as you look on the inside you'd think you'd have stepped into a Tardis, I didn't take long to find the cafe but I was shocked to find who worked there.

"Malik?" I nearly squeaked

"Ryou?" Malik replied "what are you doing here it's not even opening time"

"I work here now, I just got the job a few days ago" I replied with a slight smile on my face as Malik looked at me wide eyed

"No way, you serious?"

"Would I really be here if I wasn't?"

"Right, point taken, so I take it you were sent to help me with the delivery stuff?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes "yes I am"

"Right then, all I need you to do is to grab the boxes from the truck outside and sort them into the freezer and fridge stuff ok?"

"Gotcha Malik" I already knew where the fridge and freezer were so I went into the back and started picking the boxes and placing the stuff from them into the fridge and freezer "so how's Marik doing?" I asked as he came through the back door

"Oh you know the usual pain in the neck" he laughed as he placed his boxes down next to me "what about you?"

"Oh you know, the usual" I say as I'm putting the food in

"Ryou, we've got to get you out at some point, maybe you should go to the bar with us so you can find someone"

"Malik you know I'm underage by a year"

"So what, you need to get out more, and hopefully get laid"

I raised an eyebrow at that, true that I've never done something intimate with someone, but I don't want to throw away my innocence like it was nothing, plus I wanted to wait after marriage, because my family was Christian.

"Also why are you getting a job? I thought you had plenty of money to last"

"Because I don't want to always rely on other people, I want to do stuff out of my own money and use my dad's money for emergencies" that was also true.

"So why did you decide to work here?"

"One because I couldn't find any other place and second I love the ocean, my mum and dad used to go on ferry's all the time, I was supposed to go with them a day before the car crash" that was also true, though I don't always like to talk about it.

"Oh, well you could always come on my boat; it has room so you wouldn't feel cramped"

"If you haven't noticed Malik, your boat is a speed boat, and I'm not very comfortable with them"

Malik put on a face that made him look like a kicked puppy "pwease?" he said in a kiddy voice.

Ryou just rolled his eyes "you know that won't work on me right?"

Malik continued to use his expression "but I want you to go with me"

"Malik, the food's going warm"

That got him a reaction "OH NO!" he shouted "oh nuts, if Mako finds out he'll kill me"

"Relax all we need to do is put them in the back where it is more colder then it won't hurt anybody if they had some"

"Oh, ok" they rearranged the food and it didn't them long to finish their work "so, want any tea?"

"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?"

"As long as it isn't on the job yes"

They sat down on the inside chairs of the cafe and started chatting about other stuff until Mako caught them "if you two have finished dawdling we are about to open up the Aquarium now"

Ryou jumped slightly and stood up "sorry Mako what do you want me to do now?"

"We will be having a new animal coming in any time today so I want you to clean the tank outside now please"

"Do you mean the one that you use for the whales?"

"Yes"

"See you Malik" I waved at him and he waved back before I left, I pulled the map out of my pocket and began to work my way through the confusing maze of the Aquarium/museum, thankfully it didn't take me long and now I suddenly regretted it, because the tank was completely filthy, even worse than my apartment when I haven't cleaned when I had the flu, but thankfully I am one of those people who have a cleaning problem (2) so I went to find the cleaning utensils and set to work on cleaning the tank.

(2 hours later)

"Omgosh I never thought that it would take this long" I said to myself, again.

"What would take long?" said a familiar voice behind my back

"AH!" I screamed while turning round "gosh Malik don't do that, what are you trying to do give me a heart attack?" I say as I grabbed the place my heart would be.

Malik look sympathetic "sorry, but you know what I'm like"

I rolled my eyes "yeah I know" I pick up the utensils and place them back into the shed then pulled out one of the folding chairs out, settled it near the pool and sat down "Oof, normally I wouldn't mind doing work but that had to be the most tiring thing I've ever done" I say to Malik as I slowly close my eyes to rest, until he started nudging my shoulder to keep me awake.

"Come on Ryou you can't sit down now, besides I've got to go before I get kicked out of here" he started pulling my arm.

"You go ahead I need to go find Mako and tell him that I'm done" after successfully getting rid of Malik from poking me I picked up the chair, folded it and placed it back into the shed before closing and locking it up, after that I placed the key in my pocket before leaving the pool area and setting off to find Mako, weirdly enough I ended up bumping into him just as I was about to leave.

"Ah Ryou, there you are, I was just coming to check up on you"

"Well as you can see I did it all" I gestured the pool area with my hand

He walked up to the pool to get a closer inspection "wow, I'm impressed, there were stuff on this thing that even the others couldn't get rid of" he turned to look at me "as a reward for getting rid of the difficult stuff I'm going to give you a raise and allow you to look after the new animal once it gets here, how's that sound?" he smiled.

I tried to calm down and not to glomp him, so I ended jumping up and down while clapping my hands together like someone on sugar rush saying "oh thank you, thank you Mako, you won't be disappointed I swear, when the new animal comes I'll take good care of him, or her" I managed to stop and calm down but ended up feeling light headed.

"You go take a break, I'll let you know when I need you" he was about to walk off when I grabbed his arm

"Wait; before I go can you tell me when it its coming and what type of creature it is?"

"I'll only tell you this, it is a creature I discovered on my adventures and wanted the whole world to see, and secondly the creature will be coming around closing, if you want me to pay you for over time I'll do it"

I let go of his arm "no, don't worry about that, besides I've got that raise from you so I don't really need it" I gave him a smile.

"Alright but if you want it later then let me know now go to the cafe and rest before you end up falling" he turned and left before I could say anything.

I just shrugged it off and decided to go and look around since it had been a while since I was last here, and to be honest it had gotten bigger and popular than I had realized, since it was nearly cramped in every hall as people went to look at the whales, dolphins and fishes, I couldn't help but smile at all the creatures, I know this might sound cheesy but every time I look at sea life I begin to dream and sigh like some love sick girl, I usually dreamt about going here when I was a kid with my mum and sister, but there were other times where I wished to be a fish, whale or even a dolphin, they had no emotion, they swam all the time and could do whatever they wanted without to have consequences throw upon them, since I was too distracted in my daydream I never realized that until it was too late that I bumped into someone causing me to fall on my bum.

"Oof, ok, that hurt" I slightly rubbed my bum to ease the soreness.

"Ah shoot, sorry I didn't see you...Ryou?" I knew that voice anywhere and I was not too happy either.

"Yugi? What are you doing here" I gave him a polite smile as I got up

"I was hanging out with my friends, what about you? I didn't know you came here after the...incident" I will admit that he was nice not to tell me directly about what I told him before he kicked me out of the circle, I once told Yugi about me going to the Aquarium with my family, but never went after my mum and sister died and my dad decided to stay away from me to do his job in Egypt.

"I've decided to work here to get myself out of my apartment since it's the holidays" oh yeah I forgot to tell you, I just finished my first year in high school and are now on a six week holiday until I have to go back, since I didn't really have much to do other than make more stuff for my RPG game I decided to get this job so I could try and be more social towards other people.

"Oh well congratulations on your new job" he looks over his shoulder "I better get back, nice to see you Ryou" he runs in the opposite direction before I could say anything.

"Yeah, see you Yugi" I whisper to myself, I don't know why but ever since I saw him I had a slight crush on him, but when he kicked me out of his group I felt my heart shatter, and since then I've been trying to get over it, sometimes I wish I could find someone else who could help me when I was down, but I knew that was never going to work, I mean who would want to go out with a boy who lived on his own, who would want to go out with a boy that had terrible social skills and always stayed away from people and had some serious parent issues, sighing to myself I went rushed onward to find Malik and for some serious cheering up.

(After closing time)

"Ok Ryou, you help Malik while their putting the animal in and I'll introduce you afterward" Mako said to me as I was cleaning up the floor from all the sticky and muddy stuff that people couldn't be bothered to clean their shoes before going in.

"Sure thing Mako" I placed the mop in the bucket then headed off to the Cafeteria, which only took 5 minutes "hey Malik, need a hand there?"

Malik who had his back turned tome didn't jump at all and continued to clean the counter "yeah could you please clean the tables, I've got the counters nearly done"  
I went into the back and took out the cleaning stuff, I went back into the front and started working on the tables, I didn't notice until later that I started humming to a tune that kept popping into my head until Malik turned round and said.

"Ryou, why didn't you tell me that you could sing you're amazing" he gave the biggest grin and caused me to blush like made.

"Because I can't sing and I only do it when no one is around" I ended up mumbling all of that and Malik raised a brow at me.

"That's bull, you can sing Ryou and I'm jealous cause I cannot sing if my life depended on it" he walked over to me and hugged me. "I wish I could sing like you" he whispered in my ear causing my blush to darken more and shiver as he whispered and blew into my ear.

"Malik, could you please let go of me your making me a bit uncomfortable" I nearly whimpered, it's not because he hugged because he always did that when he greeted meat school, it was because he whispered and slightly licked my ear causing me to shriek like a girl, so I pushed him as hard as I could away from me, I ended up hearing a whimper coming from him.

"But Ryou, don't you want me?" he started giving me the puppy eyes "what did I do to you?" he slowly walked towards me causing me to back up.

"Wait Malik, what are you doing? Won't Marik be disappointed if he find out you were doing this?"

"Me and Marik want an open relationship, but there is only one person I want to be with for the relationship, and that's you" my eyes widened "I've liked you for some time, but I was afraid of you rejecting me, so I decided to just say it instead of waiting, so how about it?"

"Malik, I'm sorry but I don't feel that way to you" I tried to lay it down gently but I don't think it was working because Malik was walking towards me so he could trap me into a corner

"Why though? I can help you, you've driven me crazy, I want you Ryou can't you see that?" he started tearing up.

"Malik, I'm sorry but I only see you as a friend, plus if I was with you I would not want to be with you just for the...physical stuff, plus I don't like open relationships so either way I would end up hurt as well as Marik and yourself" I turned and walked away which was a big mistake as he grabbed my arms, swung me around, shoved me to a wall and forced his mouth against mine which was thankfully not my first kiss because I was on a date with a girl, when she kissed me I then realized I was gay.

"Don't you like that?" he said as he removed his lips from mine

"No Malik I don't so please let me go and leave me alone" I tried my best to speak nicely but he still didn't let me go.

"WHY DO YOU STILL REJECT ME?! I LOVE YOU RYOU WHY DON'T YOU SEE THAT!" he was starting to cry

"You don't me Malik, if you did you wouldn't be with Marik and having an open relationship" I was trying my best not to cry as well.

"I'll get you back, you'll see" he let go of then left to go home.

I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding, I turned in the opposite direction and headed towards the outdoor pool for whales etc.

"Ah Ryou, you're here" Mako said as I headed towards him.

"Sorry I didn't get here early, I had a bit of trouble" I partly told the truth

"Yeah, yeah anyway you ready to see the new creature?" he cracked a smile

"I've been dying to see this animal since the beginning of the day" I tried to hold down the jumping.

"Who said it was an animal?" he walked away before I could answer

I quickly ran towards him, but as I got closer I suddenly stopped as I saw what kind of creature was in there, but even then I could not believe it with my own eyes.

"Ryou, may I present the merman Bakura"

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**(1) Zork and Bakura are two different souls in this so don't get confused**

**(2) It is a disorder and my dad has it**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay for part 2**

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At first Ryou didn't believe it, how could it was a freaking legendary merman, stuff that's only told in legends.

"Mako, are you on crack?" he asked while looking at him.

"No and I'm not lying, this creature here is really a merman and his name is Bakura"

Ryou walked closer to the tank and sure enough, he saw a flash of silver and white.

"And as I said before, you are now in charge of taking care of him, since it will also help you into looking after other animals as well"

Ryou looked at Mako then back to the tank then looked at Mako again "when's his feeding time anyway?"

"It happens to be right now" he hands a bucket of fish to Ryou "well get to it, I will expect you to write down the progress and to keep an eye on his behavior" he turns and leaves Ryou on his own.

(Ryou's P.O.V)

I still couldn't believe it, here I thought thinking it would be a seal or maybe a dolphin but it turns out it's a flipping merman, after shaking of the shock I went up some stairs, opened the gate that only workers could use and went to the edge of the pool.

"Bakura, Are you hungry? I've got some food for you, so if you want to, could you swim up or something so I can pass them to you?" I don't really want to toss the fish to him, he may be a merman but I like to treat others with respect, no matter whom or what they are.

I woke up to find myself not in the ocean, but in a flipping bowl of some sort, I started swimming around until I noticed a young boy with white hair talking to some other guy, I'm such an idiot for getting caught but hey, I love adventure.

"Hey Bakura, are you hungry? I've got some food for you, so if you want to, could you swim up or something so I can pass them to you?" was he really that stupid? Seriously, has he no idea what a merman or maid can do to him?

I waited for him to swim up but he obviously didn't want to, so I decided to grab a handful of fish and chucked them into the pool.

"Dinner is served" I called out, hoping to catch his attention and to show that I'm not one of those scientists whose only interest is to dissect them.

_SPLASH!_ I looked up again and sure enough some of fish that I threw had disappeared.

(Bakura's POV)

I swam back down and began chewing and ripping the fishes skins like mad, gosh it must have been yesterday since I last ate but it felt great to have something in my system, I quickly swam up and quickly snatched them before the kid knew what had happened, I swear that kid looked exactly like me, maybe I'll have a look as he's leaving to go home, home, gosh I wish I could get out of here, but I don't even know where to go and it doesn't help with the fact that I was unconscious when they took me here, after I ate all the fish I swam upwards and stopped just before I went above water, even though everything was a little blurry above I could still make everything out, unfortunately not good enough to stay hidden.

(Ryou's POV)

I ended up noticing that there was a bit of white near the surface and knew that it was Bakura, but I didn't ask questions, if he wasn't ready then I could deal with it even if would drive me crazy, so I tried a small conversation even if it was a one way thing.

"Hey Bakura" I said to the weird floating hair "I know that you're not the talkative type, that or because your somewhere where you don't feel safe, but I promise you I'm not a scientist and I'm not going to push you into asking questions if you don't want to, but if your ever in need of needing someone to talk to, then I'll be here for you ok?"

(Bakura's POV)

I could not believe what I was hearing; a human that could easily be mistaking for a girl had said all those things? Maybe they aren't as dangerous and stupid as the others thought, no I can't let him get to me, but he's so generous how could I not resist him, maybe that's his power, to make others listen to him.

"Um, if you're not going to talk then I'll leave you now, I have to get home before it gets dark, I'll talk to you tomorrow if you want" the boy said just before he left the swimming area and closed and locked the gates and headed for the exit, as much as I wanted to talk to him I still wasn't sure if he was to be trusted, but to be honest he has been a lot more politer than the others, he seems too nice to be picking on others, he took one last look at me before he left me till tomorrow, I may not know this feeling that's in my stomach, but I was sure that I was looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow, great now I'm going all soft.

(Ryou's POV)

I knew he wouldn't talk back but I still wanted to talk to him, even if people would think I was talking to myself and assume I was nuts but I didn't care, for some reason I want to be friends with him, and perhaps be something more, I took the bus home and got into my apartment, I made dinner, cleaned them up, took a shower then changing into my pajamas before collapsing into my bed ready for tomorrow.

(The next morning Ryou's P.O.V)

I woke up again to the sound of my alarm beeping, I hit the snooze button and began to get out of my bed grabbing my clothes and headed for the shower, it was then that I realized that I would have to avoid Malik as much as I could, I mean I loved Malik, but it was more of a brotherly love, nothing more, besides he should be grateful that he has someone, I've never had anyone since my mum and sister died and my dad decided to stay in Egypt, but it's starting to get weird cause I think I may have fallen for the merman Bakura, and I've only met him for a quarter of a day, or night, I know I shouldn't but if I was able to become friends with him then it was good enough for me, I finished my shower and pulled on my work clothes before brushing my teeth then heading downstairs for a quick breakfast which was a pop tart since I needed to get to work early before it opened, then maybe I could talk to Bakura and maybe get to know him a little.

(Skipping to when he gets there Bakura P.O.V)

I woke up again from the dream I had, I'll admit that the kid was nice but I still think he's pretending so he can get stuff out of me, at least he isn't asking me stuff when feeding me, if he did he would be cleaning himself for a while.

"Hey Bakura breakfast time" I turned round and saw him again, if he wasn't human he would have been an angel, "um, I'm not sure if you want to, but could you please come up so I can put the stuff in your hand please?" I raised an eyebrow "I don't like treating you like some kind of an animal, I know you don't trust me but" there was a pause "I would really like to get to know you, you kind of remind me when I was younger" I raised both eyebrows, what was it about me that remind him of when he was younger? I carefully swam up just so my eyes and part of my nose were on top of the water and saw him look at me, I gave him a look that said 'if you try anything funny your dead' he raised his hands as if saying 'I'm not going to hurt you' and 'I don't have any weapons' so I carefully made my way to the edge of the pool and raised my hand up towards him.

(Ryou's POV)

_This was it, I'll actually get to touch his hand _I thought as I got the food out of the bucket and slowly walking towards Bakura's open hand, as I got close enough he snatched them out of my hands before getting back into the deep end, I looked at my hand again, I could feel his hand brushing against mine it felt like it was slightly on fire, I so wanted to touch it again, or maybe kiss him? _No, besides he probably doesn't swing that way, he may have someone else trying to save him, and even if he didn't have anyone then there's no way he could be with you_ my conscious said "your right, he lives in the sea and I live on land, there's no way we can be together" I mumbled, I grabbed some food and held them out "if you want me to chuck the food towards you all you had to do was ask, wait who am I kidding you don't talk because you are in an unfamiliar place surround by weird aliens who probably want to use you like some kind of disgusting experiment" I didn't care that I was talking to myself or if Bakura wasn't listening to me, first of all I really needed to get this off of my chest and prove to Bakura that I cared about him and would like to treat him more than an animal "I mean who wouldn't I would probably have done the same thing"

"You really like to talk to yourself don't you?" I turned to the voice and was shocked to see Bakura half in the water and half on land talking to me; I almost fainted so I quickly sat on the ground before I did any permanent damage.

"Uh" I felt stupid as I kept flapping my mouth like some sick fish

(Bakura's POV)

I could not believe I was doing this, fair enough I was interested with the kid but I didn't have to try and talk to him, now he probably won't stop talking, wait a minute what am I saying the boy is practically frozen and is now gaping like a fish, this was going to be a long day for sure, I also remembered when his hand lightly touched mine, his skin was so soft I thought he was made from something else

"I said you really have a habit of talking to yourself don't you?"

(Ryou's POV)

I was still trying to get over the fact that he was talking when he repeated the sentence again, I stood up and replied back.

"Uh, no I don't have a habit of talking to myself, I was actually trying to have a nice conversation with you, others would have thought otherwise wouldn't they?" I posed like a girl with hands on my hips, Bakura chuckled.

"Yeah I bet they would, anyway why you are being so nice to me?"

"Why? Do you want me to be some sort of science freak coming to dissect you?"

I instantly regretted it when I landed on my back in a few seconds with him on top of me

"You call them and I'll kill you" he growled in my ear causing me to shiver before he jumped back into the pool nearly getting me wet in the process "and people say I'm the drama queen" I muttered to myself, I spoke louder so he could hear me "fine then, if you don't want me to be nice then say so" I grabbed the bucket and stormed off, I took one last look before leaving the area to do other work around the aquarium.

(Bakura's POV)

Okay I may have threatened him a little but that was to hide the fact that I was scared, he was the nicest person and now I just messed up and made him hate me, maybe if he came back I could try and talk to him better, maybe answer his questions if he has any, each that should work, problem is I have to wait until it was feeding time again or if the place was messy, fat lot of good that's going to be, I started swimming around and waited for the boy to came back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Reaaaaaaaaally sorry for the wait, i thought i put this chapter up, but it looks like i havn't. Enjoy**

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(Ryou's P.O.V)

I looked at the time and realized that it was feeding time for Bakura again, I sighed and went to the feeding area and grabbed his bucket before heading towards his water tank

(Bakura's P.O.V)

Apart from Ryou I had the one who captured me, Mako Tsunami, come over and decided to check up on me, and I fought back the urge to swim and completely drench him from head to toe, after he left I swam again, if there was a boulder I would have hid there a long time ago, hearing movement I looked in the direction and saw that it was Ryou, for some reason every time I saw him my heart would skip a beat, I remember asking this to a friend and he said it was love, which was stupid since merfolk couldn't love, at least with land walkers.

"Bakura, if you don't mind could you please not do anything so I can get this over and one with please?" called Ryou near the pool

I couldn't help but smirk; even when he was refusing to talk to me he could still be polite as ever, I swam up so half my face was on the surface near him like the first time I saw him, I reached my hand out to him so he could place the food into it, he raised an eyebrow but dropped it and grabbed a handful of small fish from the bucket into my hand, now I remember the first time Ryou brushed his hand near mine and it felt warmer and tingly, but when it brushed against my hand now it felt hotter and I swear my cheeks went a little warmer too, I just hope Ryou doesn't notice, I quickly turned round so he couldn't see my face and almost devoured the fish and make a mess.

"I suggest you eat it slowly unless you want bellyache" Ryou said in a mumble

As much as I hate to admit it Ryou was right, merfolk could get ill and sick as well as bellyache if they didn't take care of their bodies, I slowed down the eating and when I was finished I held my hand out again for more, Ryou just looked at me but didn't say anything and placed more food into my hand, once again I ate it slowly and it went on like this until the bucket was empty, since he was nicer this time I decided to say something from an answer I guessed he would like to know.

"It's a blast" Ryou raised an eyebrow at me "if you really want to know what swimming is like with a tail" I flicked it so part of the tip came out of the water "it's a blast, but can also be tiring"

"Tiring how exactly?"

"From moving it up and down all the time" I gave him _what else _look

"Ok that really was stupid of me" I noticed he slightly blushed

"Yeah you think?" I joked as I placed the food into my mouth and munched quietly

"Um, this may seem weird but, do Merfolk have favourite colours?" he seemed to be fiddling with his fingers before placing more food into my hand and went back to fiddling with his fingers.

"Yeah we do, but it's mostly different shades of blue, green and purple"

"But yours is different?"

"Yes, it's black"

"Wait a moment, I thought it was silver or white maybe"

I raised an eyebrow at him "others like me assumed that, but yes I like black and red"

"Is it because of your eyes? Because they look a bloody red colour"

"No I just like the colour since I've seen a few boats hang around our home" I shrug

Ryou handed me the last lot of food before getting up and holding the bucket in his left hand

"Well, you've got one last feeding time before I leave for home so see you then" he gave me a salute before going past the gate and headed towards the entrance

For some reason, I wanted to call out to him and say 'don't go' but I resisted and began swimming around again.

(Ryou's P.O.V)

I still do not know why I'm being nice to him, I guess it was true when my dad used to say, I'm too soft for my own good, I was still surprised to see that Malik had still not come into work.

"Hello Ryou, it's been too long" whoops I spoke too soon.

"Hey Malik, how you been?" I tried to speak politely

"Don't give me that bull Ryou, admit it, you missed me" he looked at me with lust filled eyes

"I did not miss you like a lover, I missed you as a friend, and I only like you as a brother" I try explaining yet again.

I notice that Malik is starting to cry "why? Why then do you like me as only a brother and nothing else?"

"I guess it's because we've done things only brothers would do, besides you have Marik, how would he feel if you dumped him for me? Do you even like him at all?"

"I care about him, a lot, I think it would be best if I tell him and see if he wants me afterwards"

"If you really care about him and still want to be together then I suggest you tell him that you've dropped this and are deciding to stay with him"

Malik let out a sigh "fine then, but I mean what I said, I still love you as much as Marik, and I'll be there for you when you want to be in a relationship with me or someone else"

I nod and hug him brotherly "thank you" I let him go and began helping around the kitchen to pass the time since I did everything else and only had to feed Bakura before I leave for the day.

(Skipping time Bakura P.O.V)

I'm swim a little and felt stupid when I just noticed that the sun was out and very hot, so getting close to shore as I could I practically dragged myself onto the ground and began to sunbath in the light for a while, I must admit I really missed doing this when I was at home, it was the only thing I could do without being pestered by my family.

"BAKURA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" cried Ryou's voice

I jumped a little when I heard Ryou, I looked up to see him gaping like a fish and almost dropping the bucket of fish.

"Relax will you?" I growl "I can stay out of the water for a certain amount of time before I have to go back in; I've only been out for a while so I have plenty of time before I need to go back in again"

I saw Ryou let out a breath of relief before walking up to me and dropping the bucket near my face "dig in then" he says, I roll onto my back and sit up and began eating from the bucket, I'm kind of glad that it wasn't in the water, it tends to taste a little off

(Normal P.O.V)

During the next few hours Bakura and Ryou had been talking more about themselves, although Bakura only answered specific ones and Ryou left it at that, soon though Bakura had to go back into the water since he was starting to dehydrate, as much as Ryou wanted him to stay on land he knew he had no choice, he looked at his watch and realised that it was almost closing time.

"PIG SNOUT!" he shrieked "I have to go now, if I don't then I'm locked in here for the night, I'll see you tomorrow and I might give you treat" he winked at Bakura before heading off towards the exit.

Bakura just looked at the door before shaking his head and swimming around again, after one lap he decided to sleep since it had been a while since he had a decent night sleep, but this time when he slept, he dreamed of a certain white haired boy.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Over the next few days Ryou and Bakura became closer to each other, but not as close as friends, one day though Ryou bumped into Yugi's friends and they weren't here for a simple, friendly hello.

"Hi guys" Ryou said nervously "are you here for the shows?" he tried to hide the nervous giggle behind his hand as a cough.

Unfortunately when he was distracted Joey and Tristan saw as an advantage and both punched him in the nose, Tristan made it bleed badly while Joey's punch broken Ryou's nose "stay away from Yugi, we don't want Fags like you around him, especially us" Joey warned Ryou.

Ryou who was getting up from the ground just stood there but didn't say anything

"What's the matter Ryou, not able to speak any more?" Tristan taunted Ryou

"What is going on here?" Mako said as he came near the group

"Nothing sir, Ryou here just walked into something and we helped him" Tristan said as if he never hurt Ryou

Mako just looked at them "you're lying, because there is nothing here that would have made Ryou's nose like it is now" Tristan and Joey both paled "leave now before I call the police"

Both guys looked at Ryou with a death glare before leaving the Aquarium.

Mako turned round to face Ryou "you need anything for that Ryou?"

Ryou shook his head but didn't say anything "if you don't mind Mako I've have to get Bakura his dinner, no doubt he will be hungry by now" he said in a monotone

Mako handed him a handkerchief "do you want to leave afterwards?"

"Is it wrong to talk to Bakura during my break since he listens without speaking back?"

Mako was shocked, the merman had never spoken to him before, but there must have been a reason why Bakura didn't do anything to this boy while he only got wet whenever he got near Bakura "very well then, but if you need a break please do not hesitate to ask me" with that he walked away while Ryou went in the opposite direction slowly.

(Bakura's P.O.V)

I swam a little faster feeling excited, yeah I know it's stupid but, for some reason Ryou makes me feel different, and dare I say it soft and happy, but we both didn't say we were friends, maybe when he comes for my dinner I'll be able to ask him if we could.

"Hey Bakura dinner time" came the voice I longed to hear

I swam to the top and when I turned to see Ryou my mood suddenly dropped and anger was boiling in my blood, Ryou was holding a white thing to his nose and his eyes looked different, like he was set onto automatic pilot.

(Normal P.O.V)

Ryou set the bucket down and began chucking the food to Bakura, but Bakura wasn't grabbing them, instead he swam to the edge and dragged himself onto the concrete just as Ryou stopped chucking the food and handed Bakura the food before turning to leave.

"Wait Ryou" Bakura practically begged with his arm stretched out to him

Ryou stopped and turned his head towards Bakura "yes Bakura?" he said with the same tone as before.

Bakura swallowed "could you please stay, I want to talk to you before I have to go back in the water again, it will take that long I promise"

Ryou thought for a moment before walking next Bakura and sat next to him and crossed his legs "Mako's allowing me a break anyway and he gave me permission to be here just this once so don't expect this to be a habit of mine"

Bakura couldn't help but chuckle even though Ryou was still talking monotone "alright, first of all who is the idiot that I can kick because of your nose"

Ryou's eyes flashed with fear before they changed back again "it is nothing you should be concerned about"

Bakura growled but not at Ryou "then allow me to see it and I'll stop asking you" Ryou looked at him unsure "I may not look like it but merfolk like me do not go back on our words"

Ryou looked down at his nose then back to Bakura before sighing and removed the napkin from his nose; he flinched away when he heard Bakura gasp in shock.

Bakura's eyes went wide when he saw Ryou's nose, it looked definitely like someone had punched it very hard, badly as well, as Bakura reached out he was glad when Ryou didn't flinch or move, carefully moving forward in case Ryou didn't like it he touched Ryou's nose, getting it a bit wet in the process and began chanting something in another language, there was a mini light that soon dimmed, when Bakura removed the hand.

Ryou lightly gasped and touched the nose himself and was really happy when it didn't hurt, he looked to Bakura and whispered "thank you"

Bakura smiled slightly "what are friends for Ryou"

Ryou went wide again "you consider me a friend?"

"Well if we weren't would I have healed it for you?"

Ryou blushed and looked away "again, than you Bakura"

Bakura made a small smile before smirking like his usual self and began to dig into his dinner "so how have you been doing today? Aside from the obvious"

"Nothing you'd be interested in I'm sure" Ryou hid a smirk.

"I've got time, not like I can go anywhere anyway"

Ryou immediately felt hopeless and upset, if he could try and save Bakura they would probably never get to speak to each other again, after all even though he could stay on land it was only for a limited time before he had to go back in.

"Hello, earth to Ryou" Bakura sang as he waved his hand in front of Ryou's face.

Ryou flinched backwards after snapping out of his day dream "I was just thinking"

"Don't overdo it, might give you a head ache" he joked.

Ryou rolled his eyes "I've decided what I'm going to do" Bakura looked at him funny "I'm going to get you out of here" he whispered.

Bakura's eyes went wide as saucers "are you serious?"

Ryou nodded but didn't look as confident "I'm not sure how yet but I'm going to get you out as soon as I can"

Bakura didn't care that he was going out of character because at the moment he didn't really care, he flung himself at Ryou and both fell back first onto the concrete floor as Bakura held onto Ryou for dear life "thank you" he whispered.

Ryou just laid there frozen in shock before allowing his right hand go to Bakura's right shoulder blade and lightly patted it "don't mention it" he whispered in Bakura's ear after he came out of his shock.

.


End file.
